As with most rewards cards, this is not a suitable product for you if you do not clear your balance in full every month. You should focus on a credit card with a low interest rate such as the Tesco Clubcard MasterCard Low Rate card. This has a very attractive representative APR of 5.9% variable – and you can transfer your Clubcard points into Avios or Virgin Flying Club miles.

The cards come as a twin-pack of an American Express and a MasterCard. You will receive both cards when you apply, although you will only receive one monthly statement with your combined spending.

The Avios Rewards cards are the only other travel loyalty cards issued by Lloyds, so it is unlikely to conflict with any existing cards you hold. However, reports show that it is not easy to predict whether or not you will be accepted, whatever your credit standing may be.

If you opt for cashback, you receive 1% of your American Express spend and 0.2% of your MasterCard spend. If you opt for shopping vouchers (Argos, Currys, Homebase, Amazon, House of Fraser) you receive a very decent 1.5% of your Amex spend and 0.3% of MasterCard spend.You only need to spend £665 on the Amex to earn enough points for a £10 Amazon voucher.

If you assume that Amazon gift vouchers are as good as cash, this is the most generous Amex cashback credit card on the market. It is a better deal than the American Express Platinum cashback cards even when you factor in the fee. I would recommend, if you get this card, that you take your rewards as an Amazon shopping voucher.

It is NOT the most generous MasterCard or Visa cashback card on the market. My default comparison card is ASDA Cashback Credit Card which is free for life and offers 0.5% cashback. The representative APR is 19.9% variable. This beats the Lloyds Choice MasterCard by a long way.

Remember that the Lloyds Choice cards have an FX fee of almost 3% for foreign currency transactions. You may want to consider getting a separate card to use abroad which charges no foreign exchange fees. I recommend the Lloyds Avios Rewards card which also earns Avios points – even on your 0% FX transactions! It comes with a 4,500 Avios sign-up bonus if I refer you. My review of the Lloyds Avios Rewards card is here.

How does this compare to a cashback credit card?

For this card, you don’t need to compare it with a third party cashback card – you can compare it with its own cashback and voucher offerings!

The bottom line is that I struggle to see the logic in collecting Avios points with this card. What you are offered is effectively:

The ONLY reason to spend on this card would be if you were only half-hearted about wanting to earn Avios points. You would be able to take your points as vouchers or cash instead if you changed your mind later on.

Even then, American Express Preferred Rewards Gold has the same functionality (you can convert your Amex points into shopping vouchers or Nectar points if you want). That card also has a big sign-up bonus and, for the first year, no annual fee.

With no sign-up bonus, the card cannot be recommended based on that criteria!

If you were planning to get this card to redeem for Avios points, it is not recommend as there are far better products available. One Avios point per £1 spent on the Amex is a very poor reward for a paid card – the Lloyds Avios Rewards card is 25% better for the same fee.

Disclaimer: Head for Points is a journalistic website. Nothing here should be construed as financial advice, and it is your own responsibility to ensure that any product is right for your circumstances. Recommendations are based primarily on the ability to earn miles and points and do not consider interest rates, service levels or any impact on your credit history. By recommending credit cards on this site, I am – technically – acting as a credit broker. Robert Burgess, trading as Head for Points, is regulated and authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a credit broker.

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Comments

I already hold the Lloyds Avios card so would not get this card. But I definitely value an Avios at 1.5p. I have just booked flights from Seattle to Vancouver BC for next year for 7,500 Avios + £4.60 which at 1.5p is £117 when the cash price is close to £140. Incidentally, for cash the difference between Main Cabin and first is only $23 but that includes two bags which cost $25 each normally so for cash First is cheaper with a case, although since the flight is only 120 miles the bigger seat would not be much benefit. Incidentally I got excellent service from the BA contact centre. Also our two tickets to Seattle/Vancouver BC in First for 175,000 + 241 come out at roughly £3800 costed at 1.5p including charges and BAPP. It also depends how much cash you have got.

First of all, just found this excellent website and have signed up for the e-mails. Secondly, I have the Lloyds Choice cards which I personally prefer to Avios but the flexibility these cards offer was very appealing. I have had the cards 3 months and I am particluary using the AMEX option at present as it offers double points for the first 6 months!!. After that I will take a view on the card as the Mastercard option gives quite a poor return. I asked Lloyds about the possibility of having the Avios cards as I was going abroad early last month. You cannot have choice and avios so I decided to stay with choice and took out a Nationwide Visa which does not charge F/E fees, something I do not like at all!!!